FCC Commits Nearly $603M in Additional Emergency Connectivity Funding
The following press release was published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday, December 20, 2021.
Latest Wave Provides Support to Applications From Both Funding Windows
WASHINGTON, December 20, 2021 — The Federal Communications Commission today announced that it is committing $602,985,895.13 in its latest wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support, which will connect over 1.4 million students in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. These additional commitments bring the current total commitments to over $3.8 billion, supporting students, school staff, and library patrons in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework and virtual learning, as schools and libraries continue to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“As students and educators around the country enjoy time with their families before tackling the second half of the school year, the FCC continues to provide support to ensure they have the connectivity they need when they return,” said FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “Today’s announcement will help an additional million children get the internet access and technology needed for success in today’s virtual and hybrid classrooms.”
Today’s announcement marks the sixth wave of commitments and includes over $367 million in commitments from Window 1 applications and nearly $236 million in commitments from Window 2 applications. This round of commitments will support 1,651 schools, 85 libraries, and 14 consortia, which are approved to receive nearly 1.2 million connected devices and over 790,000 broadband connections. Total commitments to date are supporting over 9,000 schools, 760 libraries, and 100 consortia for nearly 8.3 million connected devices and over 4.4 million broadband connections.
More details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/ecf-current-funding-commitments
Detailed information on the status of Emergency Connectivity Fund applications is available in the Open Data Portal, including applicant details, requested funds, individual product or service details, funding commitment, and funding disbursement information. Additional information on the Emergency Connectivity Fund program is available at: https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org. The program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company, with oversight from and under rules unanimously adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.